IL- Victims blast Joliet bishop’s secrecy

Joliet's bishop refuses to do interviews about his decision to put a once-suspended and credibly accused predator priest back on the job and refuses to make public alleged correspondence with the Vatican about the move.

Such secrecy by the head of the US Catholic bishops child sex abuse committee is inexcusable.

Unless Bishop Daniel Conlon provides copies of his purported letters to and from Rome about Fr. Lee Ryan, we won't know the real reason Ryan is being put back on the job.

And even if, as Conlon claims, Vatican officials are using an obscure 1917 internal church policy to justify this irrational, hurtful move, he should defy them.

We call on every person who may have seen, suspected or suffered crimes or misdeeds by Ryan to step forward, get help, call police, expose wrongdoing, protect others and start healing.

Barbara Blaine, founder of SNAP, passed away on Sunday, September 24th, 2017. Her dying was sudden and completely unexpected. Words cannot express our sorrow nor are there words to express our gratitude for her relentless advocacy. She truly was a hero. There is an old saying, “well behaved women seldom make history”. Barbara made history and the world is a better place.